Don't Let Dreams Always Be Dreams
by Nymraif
Summary: (Sequel to Distant Dream) Chihiro finally lived a normal life. But when news started to spread among the imperial female dragons that Haku wanted no other but that human girl, they will do anything to get the obstacle out of the way. In desperation, Haku brought Chihiro back to the spirit world to keep her safe under his care.
1. The Beginning

**Authors Note: The sequel is up for Distant Dreams :) Those who were looking forward to it. I hope this story will interest you too. I gotta thanked all those who had reviewed on my previous fic and gave all the support and encouragement. It really did help me a lot when it came to motivation and inspiration. Thank you so much.**

**The only drawback for this story is that next month may be a busy month for me. So I may not be able to update as often as I did with Distant Dreams. But I will try to put up at least one chapter a week. I hope I have your support again for this new story. **

**Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away**

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

_The wind was caressing her face. The air was fresh. She was flying in the clear blue sky. It was so beautiful. She would love to go on like this forever. She felt free and happy. There was something helping her fly. What was that? She couldn't see it clearly._

_Everything faded away and there was a pair of emerald eyes…_

Beep beep beep beep beep beep…

Ogino Chihiro jerked her head up by the rude intrusion that woke her from a bizarre dream. The girl with long brown hair messily fell all over her face was still disoriented. One of her arms that she had used for a head pillow before she was dragged out of her slumber was stretched out straight on the low Japanese dining table. She had fallen asleep at the table again.

She took a deep breath and looked down at her assignments strewn messily over the dining table. She rummaged through the pile of books and papers and found her cell. She flipped it open and switched the alarm off. She squinted her eyes slightly trying to read the time on it. Her eyes widened immediately.

"Oh shit!" Chihiro was fully awakened forcefully.

She scrambled up from her position and dashed for the bathroom. She crashed face down when she kicked onto something large on the way. It gave a small yelp and an angry bark.

"Oh no!" Chihiro turned around and patted her huge white wolf dog on the head. "I am so sorry Yougosha. Are you alright?"

The big white wolf dog stared up at her with his crystal blue eyes and gave her a reproachful look.

"I am really sorry!" Chihiro said again and got up to her feet. She got into the bathroom and shouted from inside. "I am terribly late! I forgot to change the alarm time!"

The white wolf dog sighed inwardly. She was always late. It wasn't the first time she kicked him too. The room she was staying in was way too small for the both of them.

He stretched himself and yawned before he padded towards the small open kitchen. With one paw he pushed the door of the fridge opened. He saw on the lower shelf an unwrapped steak and he grabbed it with its jaw and pulled it out. He turned away using his body to give the door a slight nudge to shut it.

He had done it so often that Chihiro didn't even bother feeding him anymore and left food for him in the fridge and he would get it himself when he was hungry. He lay down on the kitchen floor and started chewing on his meat.

Everyone had thought he was just a mix breed of a Great Dane and a Siberien Husky. No one was suspicious of what he was. He had disguised himself well. He was very smart too, that was like obviously. He thought to himself.

He remembered that fateful night he revealed himself.

It was already almost a year Chihiro moved to Tokyo. The streets were dangerous and one night when she was on her way home from her late part time job she was cornered by some drunken. He came out from the shadows and chased those men away.

Chihiro was staring at him then. Even though he was very big for a dog. Her eyes were wide but there were no fear when he approached her. In a distance they could hear angry shouts.

"There is a huge wolf on the loose!"

"It is dangerous it tried to attack us!"

"Call for animal control!"

Chihiro looked back at him with a worried expression and finally she looked like she made up her mind about something, she bent over to him.

"Come on!" She told him. "Let's go, you don't want to be caught do you!"

They both ran home together. When they were finally in the safety of her home she smiled.

"You are really smart," Chihiro said to him. "It looked like you knew what I was talking about."

He almost rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for saving me." Chihiro grabbed a bowl in the kitchen and put water in it. "If you really don't have a home. You can stay here."

He sat by the door grandly and wagged his tail as if he agreed to her conditions.

"You are really smart." Chihiro laughed and placed the bowl of water on the floor. He padded over to her slowly and drank from it. She patted his head gently. "I'm sorry I have no food in the room now. But I will go get some tomorrow morning. You know, I really think you are like a defender, a protector…"

Her voice was trailing off as if she was thinking about something hard.

He looked up at her with his blue crystal eyes hopefully.

Her eyes were hazy like she was in a trance. Then she shook her head.

"I will call you Yougosha," Chihiro smiled and said cheerfully. Her eyes were no longer hazy.

His hopeful feeling dropped.

But that was a good sign. Even she couldn't remember somewhere deep inside she still did. He knew that her soul was always strong. He didn't choose the wrong master.

Yougosha stayed with her since. It was a good chance to keep a close watch on her anyways. He finished his breakfast when Chihiro came out wrapped in a towel. He quickly turned away and closed his eyes. He laid his head on his front paws and pretended he was sleeping. If Haku knew that he was watching Chihiro like that. He would be as good as dog meat.

He could hear her feet padding around the wooden floor quickly as she got dressed. Then he heard her approached and patted his head.

"I'll be on my way." She said.

Yougosha looked up again and she was out the door.

He took a deep breath and thought he heard a caw by the balcony. He went over and unlocked the glass door with his jaw and nudged it opened with his nose.

A big black raven with red eyes was perched on the rail.

"I am losing reputation disguising as human animals!" The black raven snapped in a silent communication.

"Oh it is not that bad Toushi." Yougosha chuckled. "You should have seen Shirudo. That kitsune was so utterly offended with her big bushy tail and kept complaining about big butt. So she refused to come here in that form. " _(kitsune: fox)_

"Whatever." Toushi scoffed. "It is a good thing for her she can perform her protection charm anywhere."

"If you must know, Chihiro left a minute ago."

"Ah damn."

The huge black raven spread his wings and took flight.

"If everything goes well, we will have our master back." Yougosha said hopefully.

He padded back into Chihiro's little room and closed the door. It better happened soon. This lifestyle would kill him one day.

* * *

The university ground was crowded as usual. Chihiro rushed indoors quickly. On her way met a few of the students that were in some of her classes.

"Good job Chihiro!"

"I wish I could be you!"

"How did you do it? But congratulations anyways."

Chihiro was confused at everyone's wishes. She even passed by some girls with envy and angry eyes as she walked on.

She didn't put much thought about it since she was late for class. Then she came by their usual bulletin board for results and awards. That was when she saw something that made her stopped and turned back. She stared up at the notices on the board.

There was the notice posted up regarding project partners and she saw there written on the paper.

Kenshin Koertig and Ogino Chihiro.

Her eyes were wide in shock and when she got over her shock, anger started to sip in.

"KENSHIN!"

Kenshin Koertig the best art student in university was an arrogant self-absorbed person. He hardly talked to anyone and criticized anyone's hard work when he gets the chance. He acted superior than others and didn't care about people's feelings.

Her classes forgotten Chihiro marched over towards his personal art studio that was a privilege given to him because the teachers thought that a personal space for him would be a great quiet environment for him to produce good artwork. It was without a doubt his paintings won constantly in awards and competitions. His art works were also hung in the Tokyo Art Gallery. He was known as the child prodigy when he was young.

The only reason Chihiro seemed closed to him and talked to him was because they were neighbours. He lived in the next unit to Chihiro's on the first floor in that old double storey townhouse.

She never got along with him since that day he used her to get rid of his admirers.

Chihiro remembered that day so clearly when one of his persistent admirers tried pursuing him. He was famous among the girls even though he took no notice of them. His lack of interest might have triggered more girls to like his mysterious ways. Not to mention that the girls found him very good looking.

"Kenshin please, we can just try to date as a trial." The girl told him.

Everyone call him by his name because his family name Koertig, a German name was very difficult to pronounce.

Chihiro was nearby snapping photos with her phone for her next project when the two of them appeared. She could hear their conversation very clearly. She peered over quietly and Kenshin looked rather agitated at the girl's constant and stubborn approach. She quickly looked away and resumed to look around for more potential pictures.

"I told you that I don't have time for this." Kenshin was already walking away.

The girl pulled him back.

"NO! You haven't even tried! How would you know you don't have the time? How would you know you wouldn't like me?"

"Just go away busu!" Kenshin told her rudely then. _(busu [__ブス__]: __ugly)_

Chihiro almost drop her cell. She thought it was best to leave. She can always come back later. She started to walk away when she felt a tug under her arm. She turned around and saw that he grabbed her.

"And for you information I am seeing this girl." Kenshin told that girl.

"I don't believe you!" The girl yelled.

"Then believe this."

Kenshin actually pulled Chihiro over to him. He placed a hand over her mouth and pretended to kiss her. Chihiro was wide eye and was too shock to move.

However from the girl's angle they really looked like they kissed. She ran away crying.

Chihiro kicked him.

"Ow!" Kenshin moved away quickly. "What was that for?"

"That is supposed to be my question!" Chihiro yelled.

"I didn't even kiss you."

"Have a bit more tag Ken." Chihiro retorted. "That girl is heart broken!"

"That girl deserves what she got!"

"You are unbelievable, insufferable brat!"

"You rambo onna." (_Rambo__[__乱暴__]: Violent, onna: girl/lady/woman)_

Chihiro gasped indignantly.

They were at each other throats since that day. Why on earth did he choose her for his project partner? Besides he always worked alone! There were more willing female participates around and he actually chose the one that couldn't stand his guts.

She burst the door opened. It looked like it almost flew off the hinges.

"You did this didn't you?" She shouted at him by the door.

Kenshin didn't look over at her was still sitting on his work stool painting on a very large canvas that almost covered the entire wall of the room. He knew she would come. He remained silent. That got Chihiro angrier.

"You never work with anyone before! So why did you do it?"

"The teacher thought that it would be best for a change once in a while." He finally spoke without looking at her.

"What?" Chihiro almost snarled. "There are so many other girls that will fall all over you to get this chance. Why didn't you pick anyone of them?"

"That is the point." Kenshin replied nonchalantly his back still on her. "I don't need a half ass partner who can't concentrate because they are too busy trying to flirt with me."

"And you think we can get the job done when all we do is try to get down each others' throats!"

"It is better than having the girls trying to do inappropriate things to me."

Chihiro raised her eyebrows. There was a short silence before Chihiro sighed in defeat and walked over to him.

"Come on Ken." Chihiro said in a much calmer voice. "You don't need a partner. I am sure if you just tell the teacher that you can work alone he would listen to you in a flash."

"Nope, not going to do that." Kenshin replied indifferently.

"Urgg!" Chihiro cried angrily. She felt like strangling him! "You are doing this on purpose!"

Kenshin smiled slightly. "Don't you have class today?"

Chihiro stared at him for a moment and then a string of curses left her mouth before she fled the room.

* * *

"I am telling you!" Chihiro cried furiously. "He is doing this to make me angry!"

"You know Chihiro, I think the guy likes you."

Chihiro almost dropped her food tray. It was lunch and it was her usual routine with her best friend Matsumoto Kokoro having lunch at the university backyard where their cafeteria was.

Those who preferred indoor dining would eat inside the cafeteria and those usually smokers will dine outdoors where wooden table and benches were provided.

Chihiro dined outside because she loved the outdoor environment.

"Come on Chihiro," Kokoro pressed on. "He is the only guy you actually really talk to."

Chihiro was about to open her mouth to argue when Kokoro continued.

"And please rule out Eiji he is not counted." Kokoro rolled her eyes. "Besides I see that you are the only girl that Kenshin actually talks to more than he would with other girls too. In fact he doesn't talk to other girls at all. When he does, he calls them busu!"

"We talk because we are neighbours." Chihiro sighed and then groaned. "And he calls me rambo onna!

"He calls all girls busu." Kokoro smirked. "But he calls you rambo onna and _only you_ he uses that." She purposely emphasized 'only you' but Chihiro took no heed to it.

"Gosh I hate that! Why, why fate is so mean to me? Of all people in uni he has to be the one who lives next door! Do you know how many girls came after me to demand what kind of relationship we have and when they found out we have no relationship they asked me to be their personal mail deliverer! Do I look like a postman? If I want that kind of job I would have sign up with _JP_! Jeez… I have better things to do!"

_**(JP: I think it is the Japan postal service JP Post)**_

Kokoro burst out laughing. "This is such a cliché situation."

"Tell me about it." Chihiro grumbled.

"Hey Kokoro, Chihiro over here!"

They saw Eiji at one of the tables waved to get their attention. They went over to him and set their trays down.

"How's class Eiji?" Kokoro asked taking a place next to him.

"You would say that everyone is busy with the concert coming. I could swear…."

Chihiro who was about to take the seat opposite them didn't hear the rest when she felt a prickly sensation behind her back as if someone was watching her. She stopped and looked around. She always felt that whenever she was out, especially in university.

"What's wrong Chihiro?"

"No nothing." Chihiro turned back to her friends and took her seat.

Perched on the tallest tree Toushi watched Chihiro silently.

* * *

"She looks like she is having a perfectly happy life Haku." Zeniba said.

Haku stood by the pond in the imperial garden. His expression was unreadable. They had been exchanging news since the day Haku found Chihiro. Everyone was against his plan for trying to get Chihiro to remember again. He really didn't expect this from Zeniba.

"You have to admit that even it is hard for you." Zeniba pressed on. "Look at her! Look at her smile! There are no evil spirits trying to harm her anymore since her spiritual powers are gone. There is no more life-threatening phenomenon. You got to see that this life is good for her."

"I thought that I would at least get your support Zeniba." Haku said in a rather hard tone.

"Haku…" Zeniba sighed.

"No, it's fine." Haku turned away from the pond and her image vanished.

He heard giggling nearby but didn't acknowledge it and walked away.

He strode back to his room to have a little peace and quiet. The Jade Palace had become extremely crowded when courtship of other imperial female dragons had come to win his heart. Even he firmly refused it and asked them to leave.

However, the female dragons were persistent and didn't want to leave. Then it started to become a nuisance after they ignored his request, so he just left it as it was. He started to ignore them too.

He waved his hand and the most precious item materialized in the air, the Kage no Kagami the window that linked him to Chihiro.

He was glad when her shikigami was willing to look for her. They regarded her as their only master and they stood faithfully by her side. At least he had some support and he wasn't alone trying to get Chihiro to remember again. Then he would be able to bring her back into his life.

Chihiro appeared in the mirror. He could see that she was still good friends with Kokoro and Eiji. They were eating together in a huge lawn. There were many people around her. But his focus was only on her. Her eyes were flashing. She seemed angry about something.

He smiled slightly. It was a rare sight to see Chihiro angry. In fact, he never did before. Maybe it was because she never gotten angry with him no matter what happened. His heart ached at the thought. She had always been so patient with him.

"Chihiro, I really need you…"

Haku whispered into the Kage no Kagami.

* * *

"_I need you..." _

Chihiro gasped and jerked her head up from the table. She looked around her quiet surroundings. The books around her gave her the familiar scent of new and old paper. It was after classes and Chihiro decided to come to the library to work on her assignments.

The university students were spread out sitting at different tables, some studying and some doing their projects. They didn't heed any attention to her as they continued with their work.

She must have fallen asleep on the table again. She rubbed her temple with a soft sigh. How long had she slept?

She looked out the window to see streaks of yellow and red creases over the sky. It was going to be dark soon. She started packing her materials. She remembered she had to drop by the supermarket to get food for Yougosha.

She was having strange dreams lately. Dreams like flying in the sky. Voices that she couldn't remember what it said when she woke up. Then the most bizarre of all was a pair of amazing emerald eyes. Who did they belong to?

It was definitely not Kenshin's green eyes. She was positive that these were different.

She snorted when she thought it might have been Kenshin's eyes.

"No…" Chihiro shook her head. "Definitely not Ken's"

However she did remember when she first saw Kenshin's eyes she felt a weird jolt.

Those emerald ones in her dream made her heart ached painfully.

Why did green eyes have such an effect on her?

So if those emerald eyes didn't belong to Kenshin, whom did they belong to?

to be continued...

* * *

**Authors note:** What do you think of the first chapter? Well I hoped it went well for I was kind of stuck with words when it came to explaining the dreams Chihiro had. Though I hope they were easy to read and to understand.

Please do drop a review it always makes my day :)

I will thank you those who reviewed my previous story again:

**SAK00, fandomnerd12, gdoodle, Carly, Alexa, NarutoSwagg99, diety, melissa14dk, BubblesDoujinshi, Bucko, percabethandeverlark, NJ, darkstar2010, kelpiejh, Kagayaku Hoshi-chan, Sapphiet, Life is no Fairytail, roshini, KanaMac, Ammylovesfood, TsukiyoTenshi, TroidBanrion, DeafAngel2000, Natasha, CheshireWolf97.**


	2. Unexplainable Feelings

**Authors Notes: I am so sorry for the delay. I did promise that I will try to post at least a chapter a week but I guess I was tied down with earthly matters :P There were some complications in writing this chapter too but I do hope it turn out all right. Thank you so much for all your supports and encouragements again.**

**Fandomnerd12: Thank you so much for all the support and encouragements :) n the manga recommendations are really good. Thanks again :)xoxo**

**SAK00: Thanks you so much for everything! I remembered you were the first to reviewed Distant Dreams :) It really meant a lot to me :) thanks again for the constant support xoxo  
**

**KanaMac: Good luck with your story :) and thank you so much for reviewing. About Haku, I guess you will have to read and find out :D xoxo **

**Carly: Thank you for reviewing, glad to hear that you like the story so far. xoxo **

**Sashablouse: Thank you so much for reviewing, glad to know you like my previous story. Hope you will like this one too :)**

**Darkninetale5: Thank you so much for your encouragement :) xoxo**

**Guest: Thank you for reviewing and I'm sorry for the delay xoxo**

**Happy reading everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away**

**Chapter 2: Unexplainable Feelings**

The rain pelted down heavily and mercilessly as Chihiro ran towards her university. The sky was dark and lightning was flashing in the sky followed by the rumbles of thunder. She was wrapped snuggly in a black raincoat and carrying an umbrella trying to stay as dry as possible.

She got a visit from her worried landlady telling her that Kenshin did not return to his room for a week. Chihiro knew about it since she lived just next door and tried to convince her stricken landlady that Kenshin was fine. He sometimes stayed in the university to finish his projects. But her landlady insisted that he never stayed away for that long before.

Finally giving in, Chihiro told her landlady that she would go check on him. Their landlady was a kind old spinster who lived downstairs in the same townhouse. She took care of everyone's problems and made sure they stay with comfort. So Chihiro would do anything to quell the old lady's worries.

It started to pour before she was about to go out, so without a choice Chihiro put on her raincoat and took her umbrella. Yougosha was actually worried and stood by the door nudging her arm when she was about to leave.

"Don't worry I won't be long." Chihiro told him and patted his head.

Yougosha cursed inwardly when she left slamming the door behind her.

_Toushi will definitely hate this, _he thought inwardly_. If Haku is watching this… he will freak…_

* * *

"Why are you out in this weather Chihiro?"

Haku was watching her. He stared at the Kage no Kagami in shock.

He watched Chihiro ran through the rain feeling frustrated that he was helpless in this situation. There was no way anyone could stop her if she decided to go out in such weather. He knew that, but it didn't make him less annoyed and worried.

"Shirudo!" Haku called quickly.

"What!" Shirudo appeared suddenly from thin air.

"Do something!"

"I can only do a protective spell so that she wouldn't get sick." Shirudo told Haku. "That is as much as I can do!"

"Then cast it!"

Shirudo sighed and did as she was told.

She would appear occasionally at the Jade Palace to assist Haku. She had been a personal messenger for Haku since she refused to go to the human realm disguised as a human animal. She also helped in performing simple protective spell over Chihiro though she didn't need it anymore because she no longer attract the phenomenal since her spiritual aura was taken away. But Haku insisted anyways.

_He sure is a worry ward_! Shirudo thought inwardly rather agitatedly.

* * *

Chihiro stepped inside the front doors of her university and began stripping off her wet raincoat dropping it carelessly on the floor and chucking her wet umbrella into the racks provided by the door. Even bundle up carefully she still got slightly drench by such heavy rain.

She wiped her face dry with both her hands hastily and shook the rainwater off her hands. Then she brushed back her long hair agitatedly. Maybe she might give Kenshin a good kick up his ass for putting her in such a situation.

She headed towards his private work studio.

Since it was the weekends, the university was quite empty with only a few students around and with such weather most people would rather be at home.

When Chihiro got to Kenshin's studio she didn't bother knocking and opened the door. The room was in darkness and the sudden flash of lightning gave Chihiro a quick glimpse of Kenshin lying on the floor on his side.

"Ken?" Chihiro reached out to switch on the lights before going to him quickly.

She knelt down next to him and shook him.

"Hey Ken!" She called again anxiously.

Kenshin rolled over and groaned softly.

"I'm hungry." He whispered.

Chihiro raised an eyebrow. She wondered whether to knock him with a sledgehammer or strangle him. He must be so engrossed in his work he forgot to eat again.

"Jeez, when was the last time you ate something?" Chihiro stood up in a flash and folded her arms indignantly. That was when she saw the studio aside from the huge canvas by the wall; the floor was in total mess.

There were empty instant cup noodles, empty can drinks and boxes of junk food. Chihiro stared wide-eyed. He was eating all this for the week? She looked down back at him in disbelief. He had gone back to sleep again.

Chihiro placed her hand over her forehead and sighed. Honestly, she felt like this was the last place she wanted to be at the moment.

* * *

Kenshin woke up by the aroma of rice, _tamagoyak_i and meat. He looked up and saw that his studio was cleaned and next to him was a box of store bento attached with a pair of recyclable wooden chopsticks. Then he noticed not far from where he was sleeping Chihiro sat on the floor her back towards him.

_(Tamagoyaki [_たまごやき_]__: Japanese fried egg roll that is usually sweet)_

She was very relaxed, leaning back slightly with both arms supporting her, placed slightly behind the side her body with her palms resting on the floor and her legs bent towards her front. She was looking up at his painting on the huge canvas by the wall.

She must have cleaned the place and got him the bento set. He looked out the window and saw that it was drizzling slightly outside and the sky was not as dark anymore. He wasn't sure how long he slept but he knew it was raining very heavily when he fell asleep or drop unconscious on the floor. He could vaguely remember when he heard Chihiro's voice.

"You know too much instant ramen will kill you one day." Chihiro said without looking around. She sensed him waking up. "And to go hungry will also kill you too."

"We all have to die someday." Kenshin replied groggily and rubbed his eyes.

"That's true, but we control whether to die of health problem or cause of old age."

"That really does not concern you though." Kenshin said nonchalantly.

Chihiro turned around slightly her eyes flashing. "Then stop making people worry!"

"I can't imagine you being worried about me." Kenshin smiled softly and picked up the bento set and started eating. He was famished. He really couldn't remember when he last ate.

She must have gotten it from the supermarket near their townhouse. He knew Chihiro couldn't cook. He always saw her buying bento sets from the supermarket before she got home.

"Hah!" Chihiro turned back to the canvas. "As if, _ooya-san_ was worried that you didn't return for a week. She came to me wondering if I knew what happened to you. She wouldn't stop worrying until I said I would come to check on you. Please at least call her if you decide not to go home."

"So its her…" Kenshin sighed softly. "I told her so often that if I don't come back I am in here working on my projects."

"I guess she knew that you would collapse for not eating properly." Chihiro snapped and finally turned around fully. She still remained seated on the floor and her legs crossed this time.

Kenshin remained silent.

"Ken, you are a genius at your work and I know it always comes first. But you have to please think about people that care about you too!"

"I don't need that." Kenshin looked down at the partially finished bento box.

Chihiro sighed. "Then why did you decide on me being your partner? You don't care about other people. So why did you think that you needed a partner this time?

There was silence from him and Chihiro thought she wouldn't get her answer; she finally stood up and headed for the door.

"It was your first day."

Chihiro stalled by the door when Kenshin spoke in a rather quiet voice.

"You were holding your canvas and I saw that painting. That scenery of a lake you painted caught my attention and I wondered what kind of girl you are. You are able to paint something I couldn't. I just wanted to see how our work would be like together."

The first day when she came to university? Chihiro's mind was whirling, trying to remember the painting she brought on the first day. She remembered she was trying to look for her class and there were two girls talking about Kenshin.

She blinked. Right, he looked over at her painting before their eyes met!

She remembers now.

Kenshin mentioned about a lake then it should be the picture of the sun setting behind the shrine. Why would such scenery captivate Kenshin? His work was always on the graphic side.

"You drew that picture with so much passion it tells in the painting."

Chihiro could feel her cheeks burned for she blushed at his words. What he said was true because always felt a strange attachment to that lake and the forest below the shrine. She couldn't understand why but that place gave her a nostalgic feeling of warmth and love.

"Besides you are one of the best art students in university that doesn't flirt all over me and I needed to get my distinction to…" Kenshin didn't finish his sentence when he stared at Chihiro in astonishment. "Chi-chan why are you crying?"

Kenshin would only call Chihiro by her nickname he had given her, violent girl or a shortened name he said it was easier to use, Chi-chan.

Chihiro was wide eyed as tears slid down her cheeks. She hadn't realized that she was crying until Kenshin mentioned it. She raised her hand to touch the wetness gingerly and in awe. She had no idea why she was crying.

"Eh?" Chihiro smiled awkwardly still in shock. "I wonder why?"

Her heart hurts when she thought of the shrine, the lake and the forest. Why did her heart hurt so badly?

"Hey…" Kenshin said softly walking over to her. "Was it something I said? You never cry over anything I said before. Even when I start calling you rambo onna."

Chihiro chuckled and wiped the rest of the tears away quickly with the back of her hand. She shook her head slightly.

"No, it wasn't you. I think I might be homesick and miss the shrine I used to stay in."

"You used to stay in a shrine?" Kenshin raised his eyebrows.

Chihiro laughed. She hadn't really talked about her past with anyone here in Tokyo. She was from a small town and how she came to stay with the town priest at the town shrine after her parents moved to Kanagawa. It sounded rather boring and uninteresting. So she never said anything.

"That scenery that captivated you." Chihiro smiled. "It is the backyard of the town shrine I used to live."

"You must really love that shrine." Kenshin had an expression of astonishment.

"Is it that weird to like the shrine?" Chihiro was still smiling. "The backyard has a beautiful view. You said so yourself."

"I didn't say anything about it being beautiful. I just said you drew it with all your heart."

"Right…" Chihiro rolled her eyes. "So you think you want to do something around that line for our project?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, holidays are coming, I might want to visit Toshihiro-san." Chihiro smiled.

Kenshin looked at her in a silent agreement. He was quite interested to see that town Chihiro grew up in. She seemed to be a pretty fascinating person for someone coming from such a small town.

* * *

"You should be happy." Shirudo said quietly as she stared over at Haku. "She is going back to the shrine!"

Haku was expressionless while he watched Chihiro talked to the boy name Kenshin. He didn't like the idea that Chihiro was bringing someone to their special place.

The backyard at the shrine was where they had spent so much time together was special to him. To have someone else invade that place he felt crushed.

"Haku, you should be happy Chihiro showed some emotions when they were talking about your lake." Shirudo said. "She was crying! That would mean even she couldn't remember she felt something! Isn't it a good sign?"

"Yes, you are right." Haku replied curtly and waved the Kage no Kagami away. He didn't want to look at that boy more than he needed to. "I guess it is time to pay a visit to my lake. Please inform Toshihiro."

"Yes…" Shirudo replied quickly and vanished she didn't want to be around Haku when he was moody like that. Though he was always moody since Chihiro was no longer in his life.

At this occasion, even a blind man could even tell that Haku's temper was boiling over the scale.

"What else can I do to be make you remember Chihiro?" Haku whispered placing his palm over his forehead.

He felt like pieces of him was falling away as days went by without her. Even he had put up a façade of being the most powerful leader in the spirit world, he felt frustrated and weak.

Masami stood by his room with her presence hidden watching him silently. Even she was void from all expressions, her feelings were torn between what she thought was right and regret. When was the last time did she even saw Haku's smile?

* * *

Chihiro stared at herself in the mirror after her shower. She was wrapped in a towel that covered her chest down to her thighs. Her long brown hair was wet lying limply over her shoulders. There still droplets of water on her fair skin. Her skin was flawless except for a crude scar below her left shoulder.

She touched that scar gently. It didn't hurt anymore but with such a hideous scar proved that it was a very bad wound. The strange part was she couldn't remember how she got it.

_A sharp shiny object with stains of crimson flashed before her eyes._

She gasped and blinked.

What was that?

The sudden ringing tone from her cell brought her back to reality and Chihiro left the bathroom to answer the call.

She could see Yougosha sleeping near the kitchen. She found it rather peculiar. Her dog was always awake before she entered the bathroom. But whenever she was out after her bath he would be sleeping. It doesn't matter what he was doing, he could be in the middle of his meal and he would just sleep when she steps out of the bathroom.

Since it wasn't anything that was troubling her, Chihiro didn't contemplate on it and answer her phone. It was Kokoro who called. When Chihiro told her that she wanted to go back to the shrine, she and Eiji decided to return too. They wanted to visit their family that holiday.

They were supposed to meet up during noon. She had packed her bags and Yougosha was ready to go anytime.

"Right, I'll be ready in a few minutes." Chihiro told her. "I just got out from a shower. Ken and I will meet you and Eiji by the station. See you both soon."

Chihiro flipped her cell shut and looked over at Yougosha's sleeping form. She touched her scar momentarily before she quickly got dressed to meet her friends.

It had been almost a year since she left that place. Now that she was going back again, she felt slightly anxious. She wondered why such a feeling of nervousness.

* * *

It was a few hours ride by the _shinkansen_ from Tokyo. Chihiro was rather quiet the entire journey. It was a good thing that Kenshin was sleeping as soon as he sat down in the train because Chihiro didn't feel like talking. She felt butterflies in her stomach the whole time.

Yougosha didn't misbehave in any way was resting at their feet. He was a very well mannered dog to begin with so Chihiro had no problem bringing him along. It was only because of his size that got people around nervous.

Eiji and Kokoro were chatting quietly but as time went by they soon fell asleep together their head resting on one another.

Chihiro was the only one left awake staring out the glass window as the scenery zoomed passed her. The queasy feeling in her stomach kept her awake the entire journey. Why was she feeling so anxious? She couldn't understand why.

It was almost evening when they reach the station and there was still an hour ride by cab to their town.

So they decided that Eiji and Kokoro would take a different cab because they couldn't fit in a single one and they were going the different direction.

Chihiro, Kenshin and Yougosha took the same cab. Moreover, Kenshin didn't have a place to stay at the town and there wasn't any motel or hotels nearby. So Chihiro suggested the shrine and Toshihiro didn't mind.

Yougosha who was sitting at the other side of the cab his head out the window was feeling overjoyed; he was finally home to the place where spirits were strong and remembered.

Kenshin who was took the front seat was looking out the window with a bored expression. This place look liked a dead town. He saw Chihiro's reflection at the side mirror and wondered why she looked so nervous. Weren't she coming home to a place she said she missed so much?

After the hour of car ride, they soon approached the old crooked cement steps leading to the shrine when the cab came closer to the hill. Her heart started to pound rather rapidly. She was at the edge of her seat as she stared out the window.

When the cab came to a halt, Kenshin was the first to step out the vehicle and let Yougosha out. The driver was unloading their luggage. It took Chihiro a few minutes before she finally opened the door gradually and stepped out of the car.

"Are you alright Chi-chan?"

"Yeah…" She answered softly as she looked up those familiar steps.

Yougosha was already running up those steps without waiting for anyone. Chihiro smiled slightly to see him so excited. It was strange that the dog seemed like he knew the place so well. But it could be because of the long coop up journey they had and he didn't have much space to stretch his legs. Chihiro didn't dwell on the matter for long.

Kenshin paid the driver and they were on their way up those steps. They met Yougosha half way up. It was like the dog was waiting for them. They continued their way up together with Yougosha padding next to Chihiro and Kenshin lagging behind.

"I can't believe you climb these steps every single day when you were in school." Due to the lack of exercise he was out of breath before they reach the top.

"Well, I am call the fastest runner in school." Chihiro smiled back at him. "Though I never took part of any sports, I am quite an athlete."

"That explain that kick you gave me, it hurts like hell." Kenshin mumbled under his breath.

"You are still holding that against me?" Chihiro chuckled. "It was your fault for grabbing me like that."

"I can't imagine you being good in sports though." Kenshin looked at her inquiringly. "You look so much like an indoor person."

"I wonder why too." Chihiro replied softly. "I didn't participate in any sports at school, but I remember I was really fast when it comes to running."

Yougosha looked up at Chihiro slightly. Of course she was a fast runner, all those years running away from danger. She was trained to run fast since she was young even though she didn't want to. However, she wouldn't remember that.

The red archway came to view soon and a grin slowly appeared on Chihiro's expression. The butterflies and nervousness she felt earlier had vanished instantly when the two _komainu_ _(stone lion-dogs)_ stationed at both side of the red arch loomed before her, she felt like she was finally home and she was safe.

"Toshihiro-san!" Chihiro cried running up the last remaining steps and dropped her luggage by the archway.

Toshihiro was standing by the shrine near the porch smiled when Chihiro ran towards him. She jumped over to him and flung her arms around his neck nearly knocking him back.

"_Tadaima!"_ Chihiro whispered almost in tears.

_(__**Tadaima**__ [__ただいま__]: __I'm home)_

"_Okaerinasai_ Chihiro." Toshihiro replied in a soft gentle voice and placed a hand on her head softly.

_(__**Okaerinasai**__ [__おかえりなさい__]: Welcome home__)_

"_Ojama shimas."_ _(Sorry to disturb)_ Kenshin came up behind them quietly. He had both his and Chihiro's luggage in his hands.

"You must be Koertig-san." Toshihiro smiled at him. "_Hajimemashite_, I'm Toshihiro Hiroki. I take care of this shrine."

_(__**Hajimemashite**__ [__初めまし__]: Please to meet you)_

"_Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu,"_ Kenshin bowed. "Please just call me Ken."

_(__**Douzo Yoroshiku onegaishimasu**__ [__ど__う__ぞ__よろしくおねがいします__]__: __I am pleased to meet you. [Literally the meaning for this sentence is "Please form good relations with me" or "Please take good care of me"])_

He was actually expecting an old bald man, this priest here was far from what he had imagined. He was wearing a hakama like most normal priest would but it was the air around him that made Kenshin more weary of his attitude.

Chihiro smiled slightly to see Kenshin being so respectful. That was a rare sight.

"I had cleaned your room Chihiro." Toshihiro told her. "And I had prepared the room for Ken-san next to yours. Please do show him the way."

"Yes of course," Chihiro nodded immediately.

She turned back to Kenshin who was studying the surroundings. She smirked slightly and went over to him to take her luggage off his hand.

"Come on." Chihiro told him. "The house is at the back of the shrine."

"By the way, Chihiro." Toshihiro called after her.

"Yes Toshihiro-san?"

"You left a small box in the cupboard before you left for Tokyo." Toshihiro told her. "I only just found it when I was tidying up your room. I didn't send it to you because you are coming back. I left it on the table in your room."

"Thank you Toshihiro-san." Chihiro smiled. "I will go see what it is."

Toshihiro nodded slightly and went back into the shrine with Yougosha behind him.

That was weird, Chihiro thought to silently as she walked to towards the house with Kenshin. Yougosha seemed to be getting along with Toshihiro very well. He never liked strangers much but he didn't mind Toshihiro at all.

"This is a very quiet place." Kenshin said breaking Chihiro's train of thoughts.

"Yeah it is peaceful." Chihiro slid opened the door and stepped into the house. "You should see the back view it is really beautiful. You are lucky we reach just in time."

"In time?"

Chihiro smiled silently and lead him to his room. She slid the shoji door aside and stepped into his room. She went to the back shoji door that led towards the backyard. She slid it opened and stepped aside.

"It is actually more beautiful than the picture." Chihiro told him.

Kenshin was silent but wide-eyed. She wasn't lying. This place looked magical like a picture from a fairy tale. The forest below the hill was luscious green and the lake by the house was sparkling crystal like in the light. The evening sky streaked of red and orange with the setting sun in the distance.

He walked over towards the back shoji door slowly and stepped out to the wooden verandah.

"I will be in the room next door if you need anything." Chihiro smiled slightly and walked over to her room through the back verandah and opened the back shoji door.

She spotted the small box Toshihiro mentioned earlier immediately on the low Japanese table. She set her luggage aside and went over to it. She sat crossed leg on the floor and opened the box curiously. How did she even forgot something and left it behind.

She blinked when she saw the items inside.

There was a purple hair tie, two school festival tickets of a stage play and a chain necklace attached to a broken silvery pendant that may used to be a seashell.

She picked up the hair tie and studied it. She vaguely remembered that she always wore that when she was in school.

"_It's woven by your friends and will give you protection…"_

Chihiro's eyes started to become hazy as she continued stare at the hair tie in her hand.

"Chi-chan?"

"Huh?" Chihiro snapped out of her trance and turned towards the door. Kenshin was standing by the opened shoji door. She didn't close it when she went in.

"Something wrong?" He stepped into her room and knelt down next to her.

"No…" Chihiro shook her head. "I was just wondering what I forgot to bring to Tokyo."

Kenshin stared into the box. "Looks like some old stuff and a broken item."

"Yeah…" Chihiro smiled softly. "It's strange that this hair tie still looks so new. I had it for a long time and I'm not mistaken I wore it all the time."

"It must have some special meaning to it since you kept it."

Chihiro tilted her head trying to figure it out but nothing came into her mind. She finally shrugged and put it back into the box.

"I don't know, I always feel like I forgot something important but I just don't know what."

"You even kept school festival tickets?" Kenshin smirked slightly, picking up both the old tickets in the box and read it. "Romeo and Juliet… is this some kind of school play?"

"Yeah, Kokoro was in the drama club and she played the lead role Juliet. She was so beautiful." Chihiro smiled at the memory, then she chuckled softly. "Anyways, Kokoro is always beautiful."

"Unlike someone." Kenshin said in a soft monotone voice.

"Hah?" Chihiro frowned at him. She knew exactly whom he was talking about.

Kenshin ignored her glare and said instead. "You went with someone? There are two tickets."

"I don't think I did." Chihiro stared. "If I did, I don't remember who I went with."

"You seemed like you have a short memory lapse or something." Kenshin frowned and placed the tickets back into the box. "I'm sure whoever you went with must be someone important or you wouldn't keep that tickets as a memento."

Chihiro was silent. Kenshin was right. So why couldn't she remember?

"Why do you still keep this?" Kenshin picked up the necklace.

Chihiro looked over to see the necklace dangling on Kenshin's fingers. In a sudden swift reflexes she snatched it from him and then paused with wide eyes.

"Eh?" Chihiro was shocked at her own actions.

"Whao chill…" Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't going to throw it away or anything."

"No… sorry…" Chihiro shook her head slightly. "I don't know why I did that."

She looked down at the necklace with the broken pendant. Most of it was cracked away only leaving a small silvery piece attached to the chain. Somehow she felt like it was not a seashell even though it did looked like one before.

"_Keep it close to you always…" A pair of emerald eyes never wavers as they stared into her eyes._

Chihiro blinked and furrowed her brows. She kept hearing things and weird images kept flashing before her eyes. It was always those clear emerald eyes but the other features of the person were blurry. A sharp pain stabbed her temple momentarily and she shut her eyes tight. When the pain wore off she opened her eyes slowly.

Kenshin was looking at her rather strangely.

"Something wrong?"

"No," Chihiro answered softly.

"You went all pale suddenly. Are you sure?"

Chihiro nodded slightly. She always felt that pain whenever she tried to recall the images she got. It happened so often that she finally gave up and waved the images away as a mere dream.

There was a short silence between them, while Chihiro studied the broken pendant. The silvery colour of the broken pendant was dazzling. She had never seen anything like it. It may used to be a beautiful pendant but now it was broken beyond recognition so why did she still keep it? Was it something that important to her? What was strange was she couldn't even remember what the pendant was like.

She stared at the small broken piece in silence. She couldn't feel anything special about this necklace and somehow she still couldn't get why she couldn't throw it away. Finally, she placed the necklace back to the box gently and took a deep breath. She couldn't understand her own feelings at all.

"Chi-chan?" Kenshin frowned slightly her strange attitude. She was always so loud and cheerful. It was weird to see her all serious and quiet.

"Come on, it is time for dinner." Chihiro said and got up. She didn't want to think about it any longer. It was giving her a headache. "Toshihiro-san always prepares great food."

"He cooks?"

"He is a great cook." Chihiro said enthusiastically.

"You should take lessons from him."

"Ah shut up!" Chihiro raised a hand and was going to give him a playful punch but he dodged away.

They left the room together into the corridor of the house.

Haku stepped out from the corner of the back shoji door silently. He felt rather torn when he watched how close Chihiro had become with that person. He took a very important place from him. Even though they looked like they were only good friends but his heart still ached to see that he couldn't share his time with her.

He stared down the box where Chihiro left on the table feeling a tiny hope growing in his heart. Maybe she could remember after all. She showed some signs of regaining her memories. The only problem was how long would it take for her to remember completely.

He didn't want to push her too much but he missed her terribly…

to be continued...

* * *

Thank you for reading!

Please do drop a review. It always makes my day :)

**Shinkansen:**

The _**Shinkansen**_ (新幹線, _new trunk line_) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. _Shinkansen_ literally means _new trunk line_, referring to the high-speed rail line network. The name _Superexpress_ (超特急 _chō-tokkyū_), initially used for Hikari trains, was retired in 1972 but is still used in English-language announcements and signage.


	3. The Days of the Past

_**Authors Notes: **I will like to thank those who had reviewed,** SAK00, Ariella Poon, Luna, MXiong, Darkninetales55. **Also to those who had put me into your fav and follow list. I appreciate your support and encouragement. Thank you so much. xoxo :)**  
**_

_**Fandomnerd12: **I did watched the live action of Nodame Cantabile and just read a first few chapters of the manga :) It was quite good. Thanks again for reviewing :)_

_**Roshini: **Distant Dream is in my profile page if you can't find it. About the school holidays, we have a few types like long semester breaks and short holidays. I am not so sure because I am no longer in school :) but if I am not mistaken the short one week holidays are in end of March and end of September. Then the long semester break are end of May to July and end of November to January. Its about one and half months. Our school semester starts in first week of January. I will try to update this story every weekend but I can't promise you that I could make it every weekend though. Thanks for your support and encouragement. Glad to know you like the story._

**Disclaimer: Don't Own Spirited Away**

**Chapter 3: The Days of The Past**

Chihiro wandered down the familiar street towards her high school. The trees at both side of the lane gave her a nice shade from the sun.

She remembered it filled with students every morning whenever she walked to school. Now it was empty during the late morning. Eiji would always meet up with her half way towards school. After he started dating Kokoro, both of them would meet up with her.

Was it only the two of them always? Chihiro frowned slightly touching her forehead slightly. Somehow she felt there was someone else.

A gust of wind blew while Chihiro stood in the middle of the lane pondering. It brought a familiar scent towards her. She looked up in surprise and looked around. However, there was no one. The path was empty.

Even she couldn't see anyone she still felt a presence that comes with that familiar scent. She touched her heart with one hand and closed her eyes. She inhaled the wind deeply, the scent of fresh pine and sandalwood.

"It is a nice scent…" Chihiro whispered softly to herself. "Where did I smell it before?"

"What are you talking about?"

Chihiro jumped slightly and turned towards the voice. It was Kenshin looking rather agitated behind her. He looked liked he just woke up with a bed head. Chihiro wanted to laugh but then again, Kenshin's hair was always messy.

"I woke up and Toshihiro-san said you went out." Kenshin yawned and stretched slightly. "You should at least wake me up!"

"Hah?" Chihiro raised an eyebrow at him. "And risk getting punch in the face. Please spare me. You know how grumpy you are in the morning."

"I don't hit girls." Kenshin scratched the back of his head rather lazily.

"How did you find me?" Chihiro tilted her head slightly.

"Toshihiro-san said you went for a walk and he thought you may be visiting old places you used to go. So he told me how to get here."

"Right." Chihiro smiled and started walking again. "This is the lane that lead to school. I wanted to see if there are any changes but everything is still the same."

"It is such a small town and the first impression I got was it is a dead place." Kenshin said looking up the clear blue sky nonchalantly. "But it has a refreshing atmosphere."

"It does, doesn't it?" Chihiro turned to him with a bright smile. "When I first came here, I hated it too and then my father got lost. So we…"

Chihiro stopped then. So what did they do? Why did her mind suddenly gone blank?

"Chi-chan?" Kenshin raised his eyebrows at her expression.

Chihiro was wide eyed and had gone pale.

"Oi, oi!" Kenshin's usual expressionless feature was mask with worry. "Are you ok?

"Hm?" Chihiro looked at him with a smile. Her colour had returned. It was like her feelings were completely altered suddenly.

"You were talking about your father getting lost when he first came here. Then suddenly you stopped and went all pale. Are you ok?"

"My father got lost when we first came?" Chihiro looked at him with surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Hah?" Kenshin looked at her incredulously. "You were just saying that a minute ago."

" I did?" Chihiro frowned slightly.

"Jeez, whatever!" Kenshin looked irritated again and pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Honestly you really have some sort of memory lapse Chi-chan."

Chihiro looked confused but she didn't dwell on the matter for long.

"Hey, do you want to see my school?" Chihiro grinned and hopped in front of him. "There are really beautiful cherry blossoms in the yard! I am sure they are still blooming."

"I don't really care since we don't really have much to do."

"You still don't have any idea for your project?" Chihiro asked slightly hesitantly.

"Our project Chi-chan." Kenshin corrected. "It will come as an advantage to you in your senior year."

"I really don't get it why you decided to do something so different from your style though."

Kenshin kept quiet.

"Ken?" Chihiro looked over at him.

She felt like even though Kenshin was his usual emotionless self, there was something different since they started being partners for the project.

It was his final year project. Chihiro thought maybe he was anxious about it since this project was the stepping-stone to his future.

But somehow, she felt like there was something more.

"You didn't read the latest Art Magazine did you?" Kenshin asked as they continued down the lane slowly.

"I never bothered about all those gossips." Chihiro said heatedly. "They try to ruin people's beautiful intentions and make a scandal out of it."

"But I felt what they said about me this time is true."

"Ken?" Chihiro was getting really worried then. "Please don't tell me that you are taking whatever they say seriously? It never bothered you before."

"My painting always lacks emotions." Kenshin told her. "I knew that even from the beginning that magazine didn't need to tell me that. They had gossip worst things about me and it doesn't matter because people still love my art. That was until I saw your painting."

"Wow…" Chihiro didn't know how to react to that. "Honestly I don't know how to help you."

"You just have to be my inspiration." Kenshin told her.

"Ooooh," Another voice behind them made them both jumped.

It was Kokoro and Eiji.

Kokoro leaped onto Chihiro and hugged her from the back with her arms around her neck. Chihiro bent over slightly by the impact. She smiled at her friend slightly. She remembered Eiji used to do that as a greeting in the morning before school. But since he started dating Kokoro they had switch places.

Chihiro almost laughed at the thought. They were so cute together always.

"I heard that!" Kokoro said gleefully. "Are you both dating?"

"Hah? Are you kidding me? With that selfish brat!" Chihiro retorted.

"Hah? Are you kidding me? With that rambo onna!" Kenshin retorted at the same time.

"You both are very sync." Eiji said with raised eyebrows.

Kokoro giggled. "Yup, yup!"

"We can never get along without tearing each other's head off." Chihiro said. "What makes you think we can date?"

"I can't agree more on that one." Kenshin replied irritated.

"But the atmosphere when you both were together earlier made people around unable to break in." Kokoro said. "It is like you both are compatible."

"_Masaka_…" Chihiro sighed in defeat. _(Masaka [__まさか__]: __You can't be serious/ No way)_

"By the way, I met Fukui earlier." Eiji said. "He told me about a class gathering they planned this weekend. It's a camping trip near the Jinsoku River near the edge of town. Do you want to go?"

"Ah Fukui Soujirou." Chihiro smiled. "He was really helpful when we were back in school. I remember he gave me his English notes because I am really bad at it. I think I don't mind going for the trip. It will be nice to see everyone again. Do you want to come Ken?"

"Anything is fine." Kenshin started to look bored again. "There isn't anything else here anyways. Might as well explore the wilderness."

"I will make arrangements with Fukui then." Eiji took out his cell.

The four of them made their way down the path together unaware of the hidden presence standing on the highest branch of a nearby tree, watching them leave.

Haku was following Chihiro the moment she stepped out of the shrine. He watched her silently in the shadows, feeling his heart weighing down heavily. He remembered the times when he was the one walking with Chihiro down this lane.

* * *

The Jinsoku River was a public camping site for local people. It was located in a small forest at the edge of town and it was commonly used for school excursions and holiday sites. There were small wooden cabins and outdoor kitchen with a barbeque place. It was a perfect outdoor place for people who love camping.

The group arrived shortly before noon and the girls were preparing food in the kitchen when the boys were setting up tents for there were not enough cabins. So they decided the girls would sleep in the cabins when the boys camp outside in the tents.

"Chihiro pass me the salt." Kokoro called.

"What are you making?" Chihiro went over to her with the saltshaker.

"Curry." Kokoro stirred the ladle in the huge pot shaking the salt into it.

"Does it even go well with barbeque?" Chihiro looked into the bubbling ingredients in the pot.

"Curry goes well with anything." Kokoro grinned. "Why don't you get the utensils ready since you can't cook."

"Hai, hai…" Chihiro sighed. How she wished she could help with the cooking.

She walked over to the sink area where all the utensils were placed when she heard voices.

_Humans had been coming here so often._

_It can't be help since the forest had become a public area._

_Kawa no Kami must be so tired._

_At least these humans are well mannered. They brought bags to throw their garbage away._

_Humans are still humans. They destroy more than they protect._

Chihiro stopped on her tracks and put her hands over her ears. She had been hearing things since she entered the forest. There were voices that she couldn't understand. She shut her eyes tight. She could feel her head bursting with this unknown voices.

"Chihiro watch out!" she heard Kokoro cried.

Chihiro snapped her eyes opened immediately but before she could turn around, she was knocked over so quickly she didn't know what hit her. She landed on the ground on her back painfully and shut her eyes tight, wincing softly. Her body felt so heavy.

"Ouch that hurts!" She heard someone above spoke.

She slowly opened her eyes to see Kenshin lying on top of her, grabbing his head and his eyes shut. Their faces were only inches away. She could hear some girls squealing in a distance. Any girl would blush in this kind of situation but Chihiro only stared up at him rather blankly.

"Are you both alright?" Kokoro rushed up towards them.

"Ken you are heavy." Chihiro said monotone.

"Is that the way to thank your savior?" Kenshin groaned backing away from her still holding his head.

Chihiro looked around and saw the Kenshin had pushed her away from a falling ladder that was resting on back wall near the sink.

"Oh…" Chihiro's eyes widened. "Sorry… I mean thank you."

Kokoro helped Chihiro up on her feet with a small sly smile. Kenshin went off helping the boys with tents again and the girls who were squealing rushed up towards him.

"What?" Chihiro turned to her and looked rather indifferently.

"You both looked like you were kissing." Kokoro snickered. "So you sure you don't feel anything for Kenshin?"

"What are you talking about?" Chihiro was rather wide eyed and confused.

"Chihiro didn't you even notice as soon as we came, Kenshin is swarmed by girls!" Kokoro said exasperatedly. "You were so nonchalant about it. I hope you don't regret when some girls snatch him away from under your nose."

"So what if that happened?" Chihiro was still looking oblivious. "Girls always fall for Ken anyways."

"Chihiro, please don't tell me even when Kenshin was on top of you, you didn't feel a thing?"

"What am I suppose to feel?"

"Like your heart is thumping, heat rushes up your face, your hands become sweaty."

"Why would anyone feel that?"

"When you love someone you will feel all that!" Kokoro said exasperatedly. "It's like your heart will burst if you don't see him and your heart thumps so hard when he is near."

Chihiro blinked and still looked dense.

That was when something dawn upon Kokoro as she stared at Chihiro quietly.

"Chihiro can you help me carry this over to the tables!" One of the girls shouted from the kitchen then.

"I'm coming." Chihiro called back and turned back to Kokoro. "Come on, you are the cook today. People are starving."

Kokoro was still speechless while she watched Chihiro ran back towards the open kitchen until Eiji came towards her.

"What's wrong Kokoro?"

"I don't know, whenever I talked to Chihiro about love. She doesn't seem to know what it is."

They both stood there in silence watching Chihiro laughing with the girls. She looked like how she normally was but somehow there was something missing in those vacant eyes.

* * *

There was laughter from the group while Chihiro sat by the riverbank staring into the rushing water. It was after lunch and everyone was chatting and catching up with each other but Chihiro was tired. Not because of the trip but because of the weird voices that kept popping up in her head.

She felt like she was going crazy and her head hurts. She couldn't shut them out.

The breeze brought the familiar scent towards Chihiro again and she closed her eyes. Why did it seemed so nostalgic? Even she loved the smell so much, she couldn't remember where she smell that before.

Eh? Love? Chihiro opened her eyes.

What was love exactly? Chihiro wondered looking into the river. She could see her own reflection in the swiftness of the water.

The water…

She's eyes were becoming hazy as she continued to stare into the river. Very slowly, Chihiro raised her hand and reached towards the water. The river seemed like it was calling to her. She leaned forward slowly like in a trance.

"Chihiro you are going to fall in!" Kokoro shouted.

Her call came a second to late for Chihiro tumbled into the river with a huge splash. She was sinking fast and the current was swift, Chihiro couldn't swim to the surface. She could feel the current dragging her under. She was losing breath. She got to think of something or she was going to drown.

_It had been many years…_

Chihiro heard the raspy old voice and felt herself being cocoon into a bubble. Suddenly breathing wasn't as hard anymore.

_Years must be hard on you but you did your best._

Chihiro blinked, why does this sensation felt so familiar.

A picture of a wooden wrinkly face with broken teeth came into view and melted away within seconds. She then felt herself being pushed up towards the surface.

Chihiro broke out from the water and took a deep breath quickly. She could see her friends standing at the bank anxiously. None of them dared to jump into the river for this river was well known for its strong under currents. Though she noticed Kenshin among the group looked liked he would jump into the river anytime, was held back by some boys from her school.

If she weren't in such a dire situation, she would have laughed at his horrified expression. Kenshin was never good in showing emotions were looking scared. That was something she might give him a medal for.

Kenshin immediately rushed towards the bank of the river and stretched out his hand towards her.

"Your hand!" Kenshin shouted.

Chihiro reached over and grabbed it tightly. Kenshin pulled her up towards the bank quickly and she collapsed on his lap taking deep breaths and choking slightly.

Everyone immediately crowd around them when she was pulled out safely from the river.

"Chihiro are you alright!"

"This river is well known for strong under currents! You are lucky you managed to swim back up again!"

"You gave us a shock!"

Chihiro couldn't answer. What was that face she saw earlier? Why didn't it freak her out? Why did she had a feeling she saw it before?

"Shut up and move back!" Kenshin yelled breaking Chihiro's train of thoughts. "Give her some air!"

Everyone fell silent.

Chihiro was still silent from the ordeal. It was such a déjà vu experience. She couldn't understand why. Every time she felt something familiar or even remotely recall something from her memory lapse it all just disappear in an instance and filled her with a void she couldn't comprehend.

Why did she always felt like she forgot something important?

"I will bring her back to the cabin." Kenshin finally said when Chihiro had no intentions to speak at the moment. "Can you stand Chi-chan?"

Chihiro nodded slightly and sat up. She immediately felt a sharp pain on her left foot and she winced. She clutched her ankle slightly. When did she even sprain that leg?

"I'll carry you back." Kenshin told her quietly. "Come on."

He didn't want to remain there any longer with all eyes on them. He also felt that Chihiro wanted some space to herself even though she wasn't saying anything but her silence told him that she wanted to be alone.

Chihiro couldn't argue. She was tired and her foot hurts. She allowed Kenshin to give her a piggyback ride to the cabin and ignore the glares she received from other girls. She didn't want to care anymore. She just wanted to rest.

* * *

"Thank you _Kawa no Kami_." Haku said silently to the river. _(Unname River Spirit: __川__の__神_ _kawa no kami.)_

Haku would have jumped in to save Chihiro but the laws of the spirit world weren't so simple. This river didn't belong to him and it would be a great disrespect for the guardian who stood guard on this river for another spirit to invade their territory. If only he remained as her Guardian then he may be able to step out of that boundary.

"You don't have to be so formal Kohaku-ouji." The River God replied. "I know Sen from the bathhouse. She was a kind girl. I wouldn't want someone like that to drown in my river."

Haku remained silent.

"In spite the horrendous smell and dirt I was drenched in when I visited the bathhouse, Sen didn't flinched or hesitant to help. Even though she was definitely disgusted by the smell. She tried her best not to show."

The River God chuckled.

"She was so small then. She had grown to be a fine woman."

"She has." Haku said softly.

"However, there is something rather disturbing I felt when I brought Sen back to the surface. I could feel she lost something very important."

"There was an accident almost a year ago that caused her to lose all memories of the spirit world and her abilities." Haku explained. "I am trying my best to help her gain those memories."

"Ah yes, I heard of that incident. That was most unfortunate." The River God said severely. "But it wasn't that. I felt something else entirely different, something more precious than her memories."

"What is it?" Haku asked anxiously. What else could Chihiro lost? She had already sacrificed so much. "I was only told that her memories and abilities were taken away."

"Well, it could be caused of the most important memories stripped from her that may initiated this side effect."

Haku stared at the River God in horror…

* * *

"Ken-chan?" Chihiro mumbled.

Kenshin was carrying Chihiro on his back as they walked towards the cabins. Chihiro had head resting on one of his shoulder had her eyes closed and both her arms wrapped loosely around his neck.

"Don't call me chan." Kenshin snapped softly.

Chihiro smiled gently her eyes still closed.

"How is it like to love someone?"

"What the heck?" Kenshin almost tripped on his feet. "What is with such question suddenly?"

"Kokoro said your heart would beat really fast but I wonder how is it really like." Chihiro continued with her eyes closed. "To have your heart beating so fast for someone."

"You chose the worst person to ask." Kenshin grumbled. "How the hell would I know?"

"I guess you are right." Chihiro chuckled softly and soon fell into a slumber.

Kenshin took a deep breath and shook his head softly. She must have hit her head hard during the accident. He thought to himself as they continued towards the cabin in silence.

Haku watched them in a distance with dread enveloping his entire being. The voice of the River God still echoed in his head clearly as he watch Chihiro sadly.

"_She lost her heart and I think Sen doesn't know how to love anymore."_

* * *

Back at the Jade Palace the courtesan female dragons were unsettled. They hadn't seen Haku for a few days and they were getting impatient.

"I heard he went to the human world."

"Yes I think I heard rumours about his lake by the shrine."

"He doesn't need to guard any lake or river anymore now that he is the ruler of Jade Palace!"

"I heard about the human female."

When one of them uttered that everyone fell silent for a couple of seconds.

"I thought it was just a rumour." Finally one of them spoke uncertainly, breaking the ice.

"Well, I am not sure."

"If it is true, we can take her down any time."

"Yeah, Kohaku-ouji doesn't need a meddling human ruining his life."

Masaki walked by the group in silence. Whatever they were going to do was none of her business. She was done meddling in Haku's life and it brought more pain to him than good. This time she would not interfere.

to be continued...

* * *

**Authors Note: Thank you for reading, I did browse through the chapter before I posted it up but I didn't really do a thorough check through. I hope it went well :)**

**Please do drop a review :)**

**The name of the river was just made up. In Spirited Away the Spirit God wasn't name nor mentioned about his river. So I just gave it a name.  
**

**Jinsoku ****迅速** (_-na inflection_, _hiragana_ **じんそく**, _romaji_ **jinsoku**) swift, rapid, quick, prompt.


	4. Enchanted Lights of Fireflies

**Authors Note: I am so sorry I didn't manage to update last weekend. It is a good thing that I managed to finished this chapter earlier than I thought. As usual without having time to edit much. I am sorry about it. Besides that I will like to thank everyone who had reviewed SAK00, Guest, fandomnerd12, MXiong, Shiks, DarkNinetales55, Led Floyd. xoxo  
**

**Fandomnerd12: I did read some manhwa before and really like the works of Hwang Mi Ri, Lee Eun Young and Wann, I will check out Girls of the Wild. I did come across it but didn't start reading it. But since it is recommended I will give it a try :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away  
**

**Chapter 4: Enchanted Lights of Firefly **

The night sky was dark sparkling with bright stars. The moon was full with its light shining into the glass window of the cabin. It gave the room a dim glow. The girls were already sound asleep after a long exciting day except for one.

Chihiro lay awake staring up the ceiling. After the afternoon rest she was now wide-awake. Besides, the voices she kept hearing weren't going away. Why wouldn't they leave her alone?

She placed her hands over her ears and shut her eyes tight.

"_I wonder how long are these humans going to stay?"_

"_I was surprise today that Kawa no Kami helped that girl."_

"_I heard that she was the one who brought balance back to the spirit world."_

"_Eh? That scrawny kid?"_

Chihiro opened her eyes and sat up immediately. She was fed up with the voices. Why did she have to lay here listening to these unknown voices taunting her?

_Who the hell is the scrawny kid?_ Chihiro thought to herself angrily. She had no idea what they were talking about but somehow she felt like they were directed at her.

She took a deep breath and flung her blanket away. Some fresh air will clear her mind.

Chihiro stepped out of her cabin and was immediately greeted by the cold night breeze. She hugged herself tightly and shivered slightly. She should have brought a jacket but she only packed t-shirts.

She looked up the night sky lit up beautifully by stars and smiled slightly. Her mood was getting slightly better. The sprain on her leg didn't hurt as bad anymore too and she was glad.

Now that everyone had gone to sleep the place was quiet and peaceful. Chihiro didn't mind the quiet solitude. It was nice after being haunted by weird voices in her head. She made her way towards the river slowly.

The rushing water was loud in the quiet atmosphere. The full moon gave the water a glittering sparkle. This place was beautiful. It reminded her so much of Kohaku River.

A sudden sharp pain hit her head immediately. She closed her eyes tight and clutched her head.

"Ko…ko…" Chihiro stammered still clutching her head with her eyes shut. "Koha…"

"What are you doing out here?"

Chihiro gasped and her eyes snapped opened. She turned around slowly to see Kenshin standing behind her staring at her slightly worriedly.

She blinked several times. The thoughts she had earlier completely forgotten. What was she trying to say?

"Are you feeling alright?" Kenshin asked when there wasn't any respond from Chihiro.

"Yeah…" Chihiro nodded and turned back towards the river. "I couldn't sleep so I came out for a walk."

"You shouldn't go near the river again." Kenshin frowned.

"I will be fine." Chihiro turned to him and gave him a lopsided grin. "Sorry I gave you such a scare."

"Who the hell said that I was scared?" Kenshin said irritated.

"Hai, hai…" Chihiro replied in a carefree manner. "What about you? Why did you come out here?"

"I wanted to see how the place look at night."

"Ah, trying to get inspiration." Chihiro nodded her understanding.

"It's not like that…" Kenshin stammered slightly.

Chihiro raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior.

"Its…" Kenshin frowned slightly. He had never got difficulty with words before. But now he was totally lost for words.

"What's wrong Ken? Did the accident this afternoon really bother you so much?"

Kenshin looked up away from her and pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants. What kind of feeling was that when he saw Chihiro fell into the river and didn't emerge to the surface for a long time? He was definitely frantic. His body moved on his own towards the river and he would have jumped in if the boys didn't stop him.

"I was scared I guess…" Kenshin said finally in a soft voice. The feeling was unknown to him, somehow along the way he came to care about Chihiro more than he thought. It was something that he never thought possible.

"You know, sometimes its ok to show your weak side." Chihiro told him.

"What the hell?" Kenshin turned back to her and glared at her.

"You know my weakness, I always like to be happy but to remain happy there will be changes sometimes. So the feeling that I need to change is always scary to me." Chihiro said softly looking into the river. "I have always hated changes. It doesn't matter for the good or bad cause. I wonder why do I hate changes so much. The feeling is rather weird."

Chihiro turned to Kenshin and gave him a small smile.

"Then why don't you look for happiness instead rather than letting things change the cause of your life?" Kenshin told her rather nonchalantly.

"Yeah you may be right." Chihiro chuckled softly. "To take hold of your own life and find happiness instead of it finding you."

Kenshin gave her a stern look before he looked up the sky with a soft sigh. Chihiro always looked at things so differently. Everything had a beautiful meaning to her. He just couldn't see it. How was he able to produce an artwork that will exceed all others?

"Ken!" Chihiro cried. "Look!"

Kenshin looked away from the sky to see what Chihiro asked him to. His eyes widened slightly.

Fireflies floated out from the trees and hovered above the river making the place look so unreal. There wasn't a place like this in a big city and it was the first Kenshin had seen such beauty. Maybe that was how Chihiro was able to paint her picture with such passion.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Chihiro ran forward and reached out towards the glowing fireflies.

Kenshin remained silent.

The fireflies glowed around Chihiro giving her a rather captivating atmosphere. She giggled softly when some of them lingered around her shoulders and her hands. The light was giving her an enchanted look like a nymph from a fairy tale. The night breeze blew gently sweeping her long silky hair slightly.

She looked up at the fireflies around her and reached both hands up slightly as if she was trying to catch them. It was a childlike behavior and still she looked so beautiful in the twinkling light.

"I found it." Kenshin said softly.

The beauty of the image before him mesmerized him.

He took out his cell and took a picture immediately.

Chihiro turned back to Kenshin with a radiant smile unaware that Kenshin took the picture. However, she was utterly shocked when she saw the look on Kenshin's expression.

It was the first time ever she witness such a gentle smile from him.

"Ken?" Chihiro blinked several times.

The smile vanished instantly as though Chihiro imagined it.

"You will fall in again if you go to near the bank again." Kenshin said nonchalantly.

He was back to his normal self again.

Chihiro shrugged it away. She might have imagined it anyways. The night was beautiful and everything seemed to be enchanting. She could have caught a strange light that played tricks to the eye.

She turned back towards the river and smiled softly. The fireflies had made the place so romantic. Kokoro would love it here but everyone was already sound asleep. When she thought about Kokoro, she then remembered the conversation she had with Kokoro earlier that day.

Chihiro touched her heart. That time when she saw Kenshin smiled. Even it was for only a second or she thought she might have imagined it. Why didn't she feel anything?

Any girl would have most properly gotten their heart to skip a beat because she had to admit Kenshin was rather good looking. That rare smile made him looked even better.

So why didn't she feel anything. Could it be that she had some kind of heart problem?

Masaka… Chihiro thought to herself almost dejectedly.

"You shouldn't roam around at night with just a shirt on." Kenshin called towards her breaking her train of thoughts. He then turned away and started to walk back to the tents. "You will catch a cold."

"Oh… right." Chihiro took a first step towards him when she heard a familiar voice. It was a voice that was unlike the others that she heard before.

"_Don't go… Chihiro please don't be further away than you already are."_

Chihiro's heart skipped a beat. That familiar voice made her heart break. She turned around slowly and caught a silhouette within the edge of the forest at the other side of the river.

There was a pair of familiar emerald eyes glowing in the dark. It was those eyes that haunt her dreams.

Chihiro could feel her heart pounding so hard as she turned back towards the river and took a staggering step forward.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kenshin shouted.

He turned around to see Chihiro taking slow steps towards the river like she was sleepwalking. He dashed forward, wrapped both his arms around her waist immediately and pulled her back.

Chihiro didn't hear Kenshin at all. She was too transfixed at that figure at the edge of the forest. She needed to see who it was. She needed to get there. She held up a hand slowly as if she was trying to reach it.

The vision before her started to become hazy.

_No don't go away!_ Her mind screamed.

She could feel tears started to fall and she felt someone pulled her back. Then everything went black.

She collapsed into Kenshin's arms. He stared down at her pale face with trails of tears down her cheeks.

* * *

Haku looked rather dejectedly at the scene before him. He knew it was a matter of time Chihiro will capture the heart of that boy. Her amazing and selfless ways were always something everyone came to love.

He only felt a little save when he found out that Chihiro couldn't love anyone. Though it was also a big disadvantage for him.

When he watched Chihiro was about to follow that boy he couldn't help but voice out.

"Don't go… Chihiro please don't be further away than you already are."

His eyes widened when he saw Chihiro responded to it. Did she hear that?

Their eyes met and Haku thought his heart would burst.

But she was walking into the river again. No…

Haku took a step forward though he stopped when he saw that boy returned to grab her back.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He walked out from the shadows when that boy carried Chihiro away from the river and towards the cabins.

"Her heart is strong." Haku then heard Kawa no Kami.

"I know." Haku replied softly. "Though it still hurts to see her with another."

A small chuckle came from Kawa no Kami.

"It is rare to see a spirit show such emotions for a human but I can understand why."

"She heard me… I never thought that she could still hear me."

"The spirits in the forest had been reporting to me that she seemed like she heard them as soon as she got here." Kawa no Kami told Haku. "The forest spirits said she tried not to acknowledge it. It is without a doubt she still possessed a little of that ability of hers."

"She could hear us?" Haku was surprised. She showed no sign of any spiritual abilities until she came back to this town. "But she never show any signs of spiritual abilities when she was in the city."

"Well, it could be because anything spiritual in the city is weak." Kawa no Kami explained. "Spirits are stronger in places that they are believed in. She already had a powerful spiritual ability in the beginning. No one can strip it away entirely from her because destiny is not so easily change. Though it must be hard on her."

"Why do you say that?" Haku asked rather worriedly.

"She has no memories about the spirit world nor does she remember how to control hearing the spirit voices around her. It must be pretty annoying to keep hearing the spirits whispering all the time. It could be why she was out here tonight. The forest spirits were roaming the cabins."

Haku looked slightly troubled after hearing it.

"Don't worry Kohaku-ouji she is a very brave girl."

"I know but I can't help feeling helpless when all these are bringing her so much pain." Haku said softly. "Even how I tried to bring back old memories to her, she forgets it instantly as soon as she remembered. It is like something is blocking her mind."

"Chihiro's heart is strong and I am sure her soul still remembers you. If not you wouldn't reach her so easily."

Haku was silent. He somehow didn't feel as bad as he was earlier.

Kawa no Kami chuckled again.

"You found yourself a very rare jewel Kohaku-ouji. When you managed to catch her don't let her slip away the second time."

"I will keep that in mind." Haku smile for the first time since Chihiro left.

* * *

The morning sun was bright and Chihiro was taking a walk in the forest. It was still early and most of her friends were still sleeping. She decided for a walk because she needed to clear her head. She couldn't remember what happened last night.

She remembered the fireflies clearly and then everything after that was blank. She even wondered how she got back to the cabin. Maybe she should visit the doctor about her memory lapse. It had been getting worst since she got back to this town. She walked on following the path provided carefully.

The guard did mentioned to follow the path and you wouldn't get lost. That would be the last thing Chihiro needed to be lost in the forest. She could hear birds chirping in the distance and cicadas cricking loudly around. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and caught that same familiar scent again.

Chihiro stalled in her steps and slowly opened her eyes. It seemed like that scent was following her everywhere she went. She hugged herself tightly as if she was cold.

She could feel her heart aching again. That nostalgic smell and the feeling of longing for it to be there forever was washing over her entire being.

She didn't want it to go away.

Then she heard a snap from a twig brought her back to reality and she turned around slowly.

Fukui Soujirou a boy from her class came up the path and she relaxed slightly. She smiled at him.

"Ohayou." Chihiro greeted him.

"Ohayou." Fukui replied rather shyly.

He was still the same shy boy from before though he wasn't stammering anymore when he talked to Chihiro. That was a big improvement.

"It is a beautiful morning." Fukui said.

"Yeah…"

There was a short silence from the both of them before Fukui spoke again.

"I remember the last time we were alone together was in the graveyard back in our final year of high school."

"Right you were my partner." Chihiro smiled. "I remember."

"Yes it was so embarrassing that I fainted in the middle of it. It was a good thing Matsumoto-san came along and carried me out."

"Eiji carried you out the graveyard?" Chihiro was looking at him rather wide eyed.

"Yes, you don't remember?"

Chihiro remained silent. She didn't even remember that Fukui fainted. They went through the graveyard and then something happened. They heard something but what was it? The pain hit Chihiro again and she shut her eyes. She clutched her head with both her hands and crouched down.

"Ogino-san!" Fukui quickly went to her. "Are you alright?"

Chihiro didn't answer.

"Ogino-san!" Fukui called again.

The pain didn't go away this time.

_There were flashes of bones…. The sound of wooden chimes clacking in the wind…_

"I will go call for help!" Fukui got up quickly and ran down the path were he came from.

Chihiro could hear Fukui's footsteps getting further away and she finally the images started to fade away. She was able to look up again. The pain in her head was subsiding.

What was that? Was it another memory lapse? She took a deep breath and stood up slowly.

"Is that how you seduce men?"

Chihiro blinked and turned towards the voice and saw that there were three girls that hung around Kenshin since they came for this camping trip near by the trees. They glared at her as they approached.

"I am sorry I don't know what you are talking about." Chihiro replied rather monotone and started to walk away from them. She was heading back to where the camp was but one of the girls reached out and pulled her long hair.

"Hey!" Chihiro's head jerked back in a painful way.

"Don't walk away from us when we are talking to you!" One of them yelled.

"Stop pulling my hair!" Chihiro kicked the girl's leg hard.

"OW!" The girl let her hair go and stumbled back.

"How dare you!" The other two girls lashed out at Chihiro.

Chihiro stepped back slightly at their sudden onslaught but she was quick and dodged whatever attack they threw at her.

"Stop it!" Chihiro cried grabbing one of the girls hand when she tried to hit her. "This is getting stupid!"

The girls paid no attention and that was when Chihiro caught a strange glint in their eyes. They looked like they were being possessed. Was that even possible? Because of the distraction two girls managed to subdue Chihiro holding her down.

"Please stop this right now!" Chihiro struggled in their grip. They suddenly became stronger and the strange light in their eyes was glowing brighter now.

The third girl took out a foldable dagger often used in camps by scouts and approached Chihiro slowly.

Chihiro stared in horror as the girl raised the dagger back…

A silvery object stained with crimson flashed before Chihiro's eyes and she felt the same sharp pain in her head again.

That was a strong gust of wind blew and the girls screamed except Chihiro. The wind felt so familiar and it engulfed her strongly with that scent she loved so much.

Everything was becoming hazy again and Chihiro knew no more…

* * *

Haku couldn't stand back and watch anymore when one of the girls took out a dagger. He swept down from the trees so quickly he nearly brought a hurricane to the entire campsite.

The girls were knocked out in an instant by the strong wind and Chihiro was also unconscious when he landed next to her on the ground. He knew that Chihiro passed out because of something else.

Haku saw that Chihiro gained some sort of recognition. It showed in her eyes. She always passed out after that. It was like a spell binding her from remembering anything. When she wakes up her memory would be erased always.

"There are girls screaming over there!" Haku heard voices coming towards their direction.

He looked down at Chihiro lying still by his feet. He knelt down and touched her cheek gently, brushing the fallen strains of her soft hair away from her face. He then turned to the other three girls that were unconscious around him. He sensed a spell cast upon them. It was a very common spell that he recognized immediately.

His frown deepened. How low could she get? Using a siren's spell to do her dirty work?

Haku would not take any more chances. He picked Chihiro up into his arms and flew up into the trees above before anyone could come to their location.

* * *

Chihiro opened her eyes and was greeted by a small gold fish staring down at her. She blinked as she looked at the goldfish flapping its small fins, opening and closing its mouth. After for like about a few seconds of staring contest, the goldfish finally turned away and swam off or as if it looked like it swam away.

Chihiro sat up immediately and looked around with her eyes wide with astonishment. She was on a rather large king size canopy bed with drapes that looked like watery substance. There were koi fishes swimming around the ceiling. The light that glowed in the room looked like light reflecting from water.

The room was rather vast and almost empty. The bed she was on was at the far end away from the shoji doors that wavered like liquid. There was a round stone table in the middle of the room with three stone chairs around. There were beautiful carvings of dragons around the edges.

On the table there was a beautiful gold porcelain teapot with fishes illustration on it and small matching tea cups arranged around it.

At the other right side of the room was like a cove area where books were arrange in a shelf and a low Japanese table by it. The left side was hangings of ancient swords.

There were two stone side tables by the bed and on it was an object like a lava lamp without the glass cover on each table. Chihiro scooted towards one of it and stared at the colourful bubbles floating around the holder. Even without the glass the bubbles bounced above the lamp stand.

She raised the hand gingerly and poked the bubbles carefully with her finger. It scattered slightly into the air and then floated back towards the stand.

Chihiro gaped. She must be dreaming.

What is this place? She thought in awe.

She pinched herself and hissed in pain. It was too painful to be a dream.

She looked over the bed at the floor and saw that it had a watery look too. With caution Chihiro put a foot towards the floor slowly. Her toes touched the floor and it rippled. She retracted her foot quickly as if the floor scalded her.

Chihiro stared at the floor for a few seconds before she tried again very slowly placing a foot back towards it. When she knew there wasn't any danger, she finally placed both her feet on the ground and stood up from the bed. She took a step forward gingerly. It ripples every time she took a step even though the ground was actually concrete.

A small smile appeared on her lips. Everything looked so real but it seem like she was in dreamland.

What a beautiful and enchanted place.

But where was she?

The smile that appeared on her expression vanished instantly.

There wasn't time to marvel over her surroundings.

Really, what was this place?

Reality came crashing back to her instantly. She was supposed to be at the forest with her friends. There was some kind of weird fight with some girls and then…

And then… what happened next?

Chihiro couldn't remember.

Was she kidnapped? Who brought her here? She had to find a way back! Her thoughts were interrupted when the shoji door slid opened and she found herself staring into the pair of emerald eyes.

Those eyes that were in her dreams always…

to be continued...

* * *

**Authors note: Ok I hope there aren't many mistakes in the chapter *sweat drop*... it is always my laziness when it comes to editing. I hope everything went well. **

**I think there isn't anything to explain in this chapter. But if there are still any Japanese words that I forgot to explain please let me know. I was told once not to use Japanese in my story because they don't understand but it was also my fault for assuming everyone might know and didn't explain. So this time I try to explain everything. I hope I didn't over clarify everything. :P**

**Thank you for reading and please don't forget to drop a review.**


	5. Painful Reunion

**Authors Note: I am so sorry I didn't update for two weekends. I had been busy like always the usual excuses... bla bla... I know it is bad. But the previous weekend when I thought i could actually sit down and type the new chapter I was sick. T.T So that is the reason I couldn't update for two weekends. Before the start of the chapter I will like to thank everyone that had reviewed. Wowie, SAK00, Guest, fandomnerd12, MXiong, Led Floyd, PorcelainMannequin, darkstar2010, Cats4789, Micaela Bautista and libby who had personally PM me to continue this story.**

**Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away  
**

**Chapter 5: Painful Reunion**

The tension was thick and quiet as Chihiro stared at the person with emerald eyes entered the room. Even those eyes were familiar because of her dreams he was still a stranger to her. She watched him stepped into the room slowly and she took a step back.

Haku watched Chihiro looking scared as she stared at him. It hurts him a lot. But he needed to know if she was wounded after the accident. He approached her slowly.

Chihiro back away when he approached until her back hit the side table by the bed. Instinctively, she grabbed the nearest object, which was the lamp stand on the side table. She held it tightly with both hands and pointed it at Haku.

"Don't come any closer!" Chihiro cried in a rather panic voice. The bubbles that were bouncing around the lamp started to scatter around her but she ignored them. Her eyes focus on the person before her.

He stalled in his steps and watched Chihiro in rather sad eyes. This wasn't how he wanted to meet Chihiro but he didn't know what else to do when he knew she was in danger and brought her here. The only place he knew no one could hurt her. However, he never knew that Chihiro would get so afraid in seeing him.

Chihiro faltered slightly at his expression. That wouldn't be the expression if he was to be someone dangerous. Somehow it pained her to see him looking so miserable.

When Haku saw Chihiro let her guard down slightly he started to take another step towards her. But his movement got her wary again.

"Stay away!" Chihiro cried again and tried to back away more but fell over towards the bed instead.

She scrambled quickly to a sitting position and scooted away to the other side further from Haku. Her hands still held onto the lamp stand tightly ready to defend if he comes any closer. Her back pressed onto the back of the bedpost.

Haku stopped moving again.

"I won't hurt you Chihiro." He told her softly.

"How do you know my name?" Chihiro stammered and looked really frightened now. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here? What happened to my friends?"

"I know you since you were very young." Haku told her. "And your friends are fine."

Even all memories lost, she was still the same. Haku thought to himself. She still thought about her friends and people close to her even in her worst situations.

"You met me when I was young?" Chihiro repeated slowly and still watching him suspiciously. But she had lowered the lamp stand she used as a weapon slightly.

"Yes," Haku smiled slightly. "When you were always playing by the river before that river was destroyed."

Chihiro remained silent. She did remember that there was a river near where she lived before but it was drained out to build apartments. Those memories so far back was already hazy and she couldn't remember if she had met anyone with emerald eyes before.

However, he might be telling the truth. Chihiro thought because she did felt like she knew those eyes. She finally placed the lamp stand down slowly.

"So where am I?" Chihiro asked him.

"This is my home and you are in my room. I brought you here because I think you may be in danger."

"You mean the fight I had with those girls?" Chihiro said almost laughing. "I am sure it was just a misunderstanding. So you didn't have to make such a big deal out of it."

Haku remained silent. Chihiro wouldn't understand even if he explained. She had no memories of the spirit world anymore and what happened to those girls in the forest was the cause of a spell.

"How do I get home?" Chihiro asked Haku with her head tilted slightly. Her eyes were wide and innocent while looking at him.

It took all Haku's willpower not to go over to her and hug her. He clutched his hands tightly into fists and remained rooted on the floor where he was. He couldn't trust himself to go near her.

"I suggest that you stay here for a while." Haku told her.

"But I need to get home!" Chihiro cried. "Toshihiro-san will be worried if I don't return."

"I know Toshihiro, I will inform him of your whereabouts."

"Wait!" Chihiro was getting frustrated. "You can't make me stay here if I don't want to!"

Haku watched her silently. This meeting with Chihiro was really breaking his heart.

"Just let me go home!" Chihiro told him.

"No, you have to stay." Haku turned away from her and walked over to the door. "You are save here right now and that is all I can tell you."

"What?" Chihiro got off the bed and was about to approach him but she stopped because she was somehow still slightly afraid of him. "You can't lock me in here! This is just like making me prisoner in your home."

"If I have to." Haku turned to her with the same sad look on his face before he left the room and shut the door.

"HEY!" Chihiro shouted angrily.

Haku stood at the other side of the shoji door, took a deep breath and leaned back. He closed his eyes, hung his head and placed his hand on his forehead looking very defeated.

"Nice going in there."

Haku looked over slightly to see Shirudo standing nearby with her arms crossed in front of her.

"I bet you didn't got to see if she was injured?"

"Why don't you go in?" Haku told Shirudo, he straightened up immediately and his face void from all emotions. "She is too guarded when I am in there. She doesn't trust me and won't allow me go any closer to her than a few feet."

"Really…" Shirudo said softly and stared at the closed shoji door.

"I think she will be a little more relax if a female is to talk to her." Haku said and started to walk away. "I can't trust myself either if I get too close to her. I don't want to frighten her more than she already are."

Shirudo watched Haku walked off feeling sorry for him. He had waited to meet Chihiro face to face for a long time. She bet that this meeting was far from the scenario he had in mind.

* * *

Masami was sitting by the lake reading in the Imperial Garden when Haku strolled out towards her. He was livid and she knew exactly why he came to her. They weren't in talking terms since the accident and the only reason he would actually look for her would only mean one thing and it would be always caused of that human girl.

"I didn't do it." Masami said in a monotone voice without looking at him when he stood next to her.

"And you knew what I was going to ask?" Haku frowned slightly.

"Of course, she was unconscious when you brought her here."

"You know too much to be telling me that you didn't do it." Haku accused angrily.

Masami looked up from the journal she was reading and turned to him.

"You should be more worried about them."

Masami turned towards a few female voices approaching them.

Haku turned to see the female courtesan coming into the garden and almost groaned. He had totally forgotten about them.

"The palace isn't as save as you think it is going to be now," Masami said with a small smile and turned back to Haku. "Don't you think?"

Haku didn't answer. If only he could send all of them home but the court had intervened. These female courtesans had to stay until he finds his mate.

"They still do not know about her being here." Masami stood up from her sitting place. "You should be careful too. They are not very happy when they found out you went to the human realm to meet her."

"How did you know all these?" Haku asked softly.

"They talk too loud." Masami said before walking off.

Haku raised an eyebrow. Masami had been roaming the palace like a shadow. She hadn't spoke much and always mind her own business but Haku finally realized that Masami had been monitoring those courtesans for his sake.

Even so he still couldn't trust her with Chihiro. After all Masami wanted her dead before.

* * *

Chihiro sat back down the bed with a huge huff. The shoji doors were locked as soon as that person went out. She didn't even know his name and he knew hers!

"Damn!" Chihiro whispered and lie back.

She stared at the swimming koi fishes around the ceiling and sighed. If Kenshin found out that she went missing he would be in a fit. After all she was suppose to be his partner for his final year project and it was very important.

When she heard the shoji door slide opened again, Chihiro sat up quickly. But it wasn't him who walked in but a very beautiful lady with yellows eyes! Do people even have yellow eyes?

The lady strolled in and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Chihiro. She was glad that Chihiro wasn't as wary of her like Haku told her.

"Hey Chihiro, it had been a long time." The lady told Chihiro. "I am Shirudo by the way. Kohaku earlier said you are hurt. I came to see your wounds."

"His name is Kohaku?" Chihiro said softly deep in her thoughts.

"Does it ring a bell?"

"If I am not mistaken I know of a river name Kohaku." Chihiro said. "It was near my old house."

"Ah, that is all you can remember?"

Chihiro frowned. "Is there something else I need to know?"

Shirudo sighed softly. "Let me see if your wounds."

"I didn't get hurt badly." Chihiro said lifting up her arm. "Just a bruise here."

Shirudo smiled slightly and looked at the bruises. She moved her hands over her wounds and the bruises started to fade slowly.

Chihiro was astounded and stared wide eyed.

"What happened?" She asked in surprised.

"It is a little fox trick." Shirudo said with a smile. "Small injuries such as these are easy to heal with my abilities. But anything severe I don't have that specialty."

Chihiro couldn't understand a single word she said only remained silent and stared on.

"Didn't Kohaku tell you where you are and what he is?"

"What is he then?" Chihiro asked slowly with an eyebrow raised.

Shirudo sighed. Damn Kohaku he didn't explained a single thing! She thought to herself silently and angrily.

"Well, let me explain something but please do not freak out on what I am about to tell you."

Chihiro nodded slightly and slowly. She didn't know what to expect. Why did this lady asked her not to freak out? Was Kohaku some kind of serial killer that she had to be wary of?

Very slowly Shirudo explained about the spirit world.

Chihiro could only listen her eyes growing bigger by the second.

When the tale came to an end, there was a heavy silence between the two.

The seconds ticked by and finally Chihiro broke down laughing breaking the ice.

"Are you trying to tell me you and Kohaku are mystical creatures?"

Shirudo could only sighed inwardly. She didn't expect Chihiro to take what she said as a joke.

"Gosh! That scared me for a moment. I thought you were going to tell me Kohaku was some kind of serial killer that murders people."

"Serial killer?" Shirudo looked a little confused.

"Well, you know… people who are mentally ill and kill people in a gruesome way for fun."

"Do people even do that?"

"In special cases… usually serial killers are rare but there are people like that."

"Wow, humans are so weird." Shirudo said softly.

"You talk like you are not human." Chihiro chuckled.

"It is because I am not." Shirudo sighed. "I am a fox demon. I'm actually your _shikigami_."

"Joudan ja nai wa!" Chihiro almost burst out laughing again.

_(Joudan janai wa [__冗談じゃない和__]: Don't joke around/ you got to be kidding me)_

"I guess you won't believe me if I don't do this!"

Shirudo stood up and transformed into her demon form.

Chihiro squeaked and scooted to the back of the bed until her back hit the head of the bed.

Then Shirudo changed back again to the human form.

"Do you believe me now?"

Chihiro was still shock could only stare.

"Please don't be afraid of me." Shirudo begged. "You are supposed to be our master before you lost your memories and we really want you to remember again."

"You said we!" Chihiro said in a quivering voice. "There are more?"

"Well, you have two other Shikigami." Shirudo told her. "There is Tengu and the other is Okami."

"I can't believe this!" Chihiro was still shaking.

Shirudo sighed out loud in defeat. Somehow she was beginning to understand the feeling of disappointment that Haku felt.

"I am not going to force you to remember of course." Shirudo said. "But at least please try to trust us especially Kohaku. He had been protecting you almost all your life."

"How am I supposed to trust someone who locked me in?"

"He is just desperately trying to protect you now because someone was trying to harm you. Didn't you feel anything weird when you were attacked in the forest?"

Chihiro remained silent then. She did recall that the girls were acting weird and that was a strange light in their eyes. If whatever, Shirudo told her was true. Those girls might have been manipulated by something unseen. But it still seemed rather surreal.

"If Kohaku didn't come on time I bet those girls would have tried to stab you."

Still no respond from Chihiro.

"Please think about it." Shirudo finally said and left the room silently.

Chihiro took a deep breath and buried her face in her hands. She didn't know what else to think anymore. Everything had gone so wrong since she returned to the shrine.

* * *

Shirudo went to look for Haku who was returning from the gardens.

"I did all I could, if you want her to trust you again you have to be the one who talk to her." Shirudo said. "Call me again if you need anything else. I will go over to Toshihiro-sama's shrine to let him know that Chihiro is fine."

She vanished after Haku nod his approval.

Haku walked back towards the room. It had been almost a day since Chihiro had something to eat. He brought in a tray of human food that he had prepared earlier that day when she was unconscious.

He slid opened the shoji doors and saw Chihiro was at the corner of the room looking at his spiritual book collections. She turned slightly when he entered.

"I thought you might be hungry." Haku said softly.

"Yeah actually I am…" Chihiro answered as calmly as she could.

She decided to believe Shirudo that this person had been protecting her almost all her life. Her instinct somehow told her that it was the right thing to do and her instinct was never wrong.

Haku placed the tray on the table in in the middle of the room. He watched Chihiro hesitated for a moment before she walked over towards him.

He smiled slightly. "Please sit and help yourself. You always love _tonkatsu_ so I made some."

Chihiro was silent as she took a seat cautiously. He even knew what she liked to eat. How long did they know each other? He did mention that he knew her since she was a kid. Was he a childhood friend?

"Did we used to play together when we were kids?" Chihiro asked quietly after she sat down.

Haku who stood by the table gestured towards the chair next to her. Chihiro looked slightly confused for a second and when she realized that he was asking her if he could sit down next to her, she nodded softly once.

Haku sat down gracefully next to her. It was the first time ever Chihiro saw such elegance from a man. She could only stare at him. He smiled slightly when he saw her watching him inquiringly and she quickly turned away blushing. Her heart rate had increase rather rapidly and it was making her rather fidgety on her seat.

What was happening to her heart?

All those times she had spent with Kenshin, the most popular and great looking guy in university, she had never felt her heart skip before. Why was her heart acting all weird with someone she just met?

Chihiro looked back up at Haku again slowly. There must be some explanation for all of this. Shirudo only told her that he was a trustworthy person. She never told her what kind of relationship they had.

Were they friends?

How did they actually even meet if they both were from different worlds?

"Chihiro, I think it would be best if you try to remember your lost memories yourself." Haku told her patiently. "I will help you on the way. If you allow me to."

"You will help?" She asked slowly. She needed to get to the bottom of her feelings once and for all and she knew that he was the answer to all she needed to know.

"I will do everything to help you Chihiro." Haku told her earnestly. "I always have."

To be continued...

* * *

**Authors note:** It is sad to say I didn't like the chapter much... But it has to go this way before I could continue more Chihiro and Haku scenes. Plus as usual I didn't had time to edit like always. I hope it turn out alright.

Please do drop a review it always makes my day :)

There are some Japanese terms I didn't explained in the chapter so I put it at the bottom here. Most of this terms were written in my previous story Distant Dreams. So that is the reason I didn't explain in the chapter itself. This is just in case anyone forgot.

_**Tonkatsu**_ (豚カツ, とんかつ or トンカツ, pork cutlet), is a Japanese food which consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. There are two main types, _hire_ and _rosu_. It is often served with shredded cabbage. Tonkatsu originated in Japan in the 19th century. As well as being served as a single dish, it is also used as a sandwich filling or in combination with curry.

**Shikigami** (式神, also read as **Shiki-no-kami**, 式の神) is the term for a being from Japanese folklore. It is thought to be some sort of kami, represented by a small belief of shikigami originates from _Onmyōdō_. Shikigami are said to be invisible most of the time, but they can be made visible by banning them into small, folded and artfully cut paper manikins. There are also shikigami that can show themselves as animals or birds. They must be conjured during a complex ceremony and their power is connected to the spiritual force of their master. If the evoker is well introduced and has lots of experience, his _Shiki_ can possess animals and even people and manipulate them. But if the evoker is careless, his shikigami may get out of control in time, gaining its own will and consciousness. In this case the shikigami will raid its own master and kill him in revenge. Normally shikigami are conjured to exercise risky orders for their masters, such as spying around, stealing and enemy tracking.

**Onmyōdō** (陰陽道?, also _In'yōdō_, lit. 'The Way of Yin and Yang') is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. It is based on the Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing and Yin and yang, introduced into Japan at the beginning of the 6th century. It was accepted as a practical system of divination. These practices were influenced further by Taoism, Buddhism and Shintoism, and evolved into the system of _onmyōdō_ around the late 7th century.


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